Contra Bush, It’s Not Freedom Terrorists Hate, but U.S. Policies

To briefly follow up an earlier article on the new book “by a senior CIA analyst who headed the agency’s task force on Osama bin Laden,” Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror (Brassey’s, 2004), the Washington Post’s Walter Pincus reports:

The author, who writes under the name “Anonymous,” argues it is not dislike of freedom, democracy and Western culture that led bin Laden to wage war against America, but rather his disdain for U.S. policies and actions in the Muslim world, particularly America’s relationship with Israel.

Senior U.S. leaders, the book argues, mistakenly urge Americans to believe that the Islamic world is offended by the nation’s philosophical emphasis on personal rights and liberties, and “that Muslims hate and attack us for what we are and think, rather than for what we do.” (Washington Post, 26 June)

This is, of course, contrary to the Administration’s consistent, convenient misrepresentation that prevents the U.S. from thinking critically about unfair U.S. foreign policy. Thanks to Alexandra Dadlez for forwarding the Post piece.